When we convert old building drawings to CAD, it almost always starts with a stack of floor plans, sections and detail sheets that were originally made on paper. Sometimes we get scans of blueprints, sometimes a PDF of an elevation, sometimes a file in which someone has added dimensions by hand.
We convert that material into usable DWG and DXF files, and into a Revit model where you ask for one. Our team drafts; we do not do engineering or calculations. You supply the source, and we turn it into a drawing set your own drawing office can carry on with.
For engineering firms, architecture practices, contractors and manufacturers, this work is rarely urgent enough to put their own drafters on, yet too extensive to do in between other tasks. That is exactly where we take over. We work nationwide across the Netherlands, fully remotely from our own office, with our own licences. An initial conversation takes little time and quickly makes clear what is in the file and what we can do with it.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
What you get when we convert old building drawings to CAD
We deliver a cleaned-up drawing set in DWG or DXF, built according to the layer structure you use. In concrete terms, that means floor plans per storey, elevations, sections, typical details and site plans. Where the file calls for it, we also build a model in Revit or Rhino, so the set can later serve as the basis for an extension or renovation. As-built drawings make up a large part of this work, because the existing situation rarely matches the original design drawing. We incorporate the deviations you supply and keep track of which sheets change as a result.
Revisions are part of it too, because an old file is almost never finished in one go. We redraw blocks and symbols in the style your company already uses, rather than mixing in a library of our own. Text sizes, hatching, dimension styles and title blocks match the templates we receive from your drafting team. If a set has handwritten dimensions and skewed scans, we first work out which dimensions take precedence before we draw a single line. If in doubt, we put our questions to you in one bundle rather than one by one over the phone.
The output goes back in the format that fits your workflow, usually DWG, sometimes DXF, and for a modelling job a Revit file or a STEP file. We follow the file names and folder structure your drawing office already uses. That way the result lands straight in your existing environment and nobody has to rename anything afterwards. We do not do engineering, because structural checks and calculations belong with your own firm.
From first conversation to partial delivery and feedback
Every project starts with a conversation in which we go through the file. We want to know how many sheets there are, what condition they are in, what the set will need to do and which drawing conventions apply. We then ask for a representative part, for example two floor plans, a section and the title block. We produce a first trial sheet from that material. You review that sheet and tell us what needs to change, and only when it is right do we continue with the rest.
That way we avoid a hundred sheets needing the same correction afterwards. We then deliver in batches, usually per storey or per part of the building, so your drafting team can get on while our team keeps working. We actively seek feedback instead of waiting until the final week. We set the rhythm of check-ins together: on a tight schedule we speak every two days, on a calmer project weekly. Files go back and forth by email.
On larger projects, we work with software you can log in to and follow progress. We bundle our questions so we do not disturb your contact person every day. If something in the source gets stuck, for example a sheet that is half missing, we report it straight away with a proposal. At the end, we check the complete set once more for consistency between the sheets. We work in our own environment with our own licences, so you do not need to arrange a workstation or an account.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
When converting to CAD is better done outside your office
Not every archive belongs on our desk. If there are only a handful of sheets and your own drawing office has room that week, tracing in-house is often quicker than handing over a file. Work that is closely intertwined with an ongoing design is also better kept in-house, because the decisions shift from day to day. As soon as the volume rises, that balance tips. An archive of hundreds of sheets that need redrawing one by one is exactly the kind of repetitive job we exist for. The same goes for a peak where a round of revisions on existing DWGs clashes with a deadline that cannot move. Your own drafters then stay on the design and we take over the conversion to CAD. A second signal is a vacancy that has been open for months.
Waiting for a new drafter takes more time than the project itself, and meanwhile the stack keeps growing. Our large, variable team scales with each project, depending on what the file requires. If someone on our side drops out through illness or holiday, we bring in a replacement and the work carries on. A third consideration is the quality of the source. If the material is so hard to read that someone has to spend days digging into it, that detective work stays a chore for a drafter who only touches it now and then, whereas our team does it every day. If you are in two minds, we start with a small first job, so you can simply judge the speed and accuracy of our work.
Converting old building drawings to CAD with a permanent team
Hiring a freelancer and handing a file to us are two different things. A self-employed professional usually drafts alone, so checking of their own work is limited, and if they fall ill or take on another job, the project stalls. With us, every sheet goes through at least three layers of review. A drafter draws it, a second team member checks that work, Sam, our team leader, then reviews the technical side and Barry, our project manager, gives it a final check.
As a result, the number of errors stays minimal in practice, even with hundreds of sheets that closely resemble each other. A new permanent employee also solves the capacity problem, but only months from now and with ongoing payroll costs.
We charge by the hour or per project at a fixed price, and only record pure working hours. If someone steps away for five minutes for a cup of coffee, the clock stops. As soon as the archive is finished, the billing stops, with no notice period and no employee left with too little to do. Experience counts too. Everyone who works for us has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the core of our team has around twenty-five years combined.
Sam has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design practice in the Netherlands and directs our CAD team. Barry is the first point of contact for a new enquiry, after which Sam takes over the technical side. That way you keep one familiar face on the line. You receive the intellectual property of everything we draw.
Frequently asked questions about converting old building drawings to CAD
Let us convert your old building drawings
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.